Hon·ey [huhn-ee] – a sweet, viscid fluid produced by bees from the nectar collected from flowers, and stored in nests or hives as food.

A past and present food favourite for many, honey is smooth and delicious to the taste and sweet-smelling to the nose. On top of enjoying some honey stirred into my tea or spread on a bagel over top some smooth cream cheese, I love the scent of honey when it comes to candles, bath oils and body care.

On top of its wonderful taste and fragrance, honey is great for the skin for the following reasons:

Packed full of antioxidants, ideal for helping to repair the look of fine lines, aging and damage

A natural antibacterial compound, great for acne treatment and prevention

Ultimate smoother, moisturizing and soothing for the skin – great for overall tone and touch

Recently, I was in Bath and Body Works(my fragrance heaven) and was introduced into BBW’s Signature Honey product collection – incredible items that are great for the skin and are priced at $16.50 per item at the most. I was hooked at first smell!

Here are some of the Domestic Peach’s favourites from this new body care line, plus one of their classic hand soaps that has been a bestseller for years:

With over four weeks into spring, the weather is finally starting to feel like it. With the temperatures getting warmer and the sun shining more every day, it is time to get your spring colours on!

The colour of 2014 may be the Radiant Orchid, but the spring is sporting the 10 following gorgeous shades that bring a vibrant side or a delicate hue to the season:

I am a huge fan of colour and every season, I search for some amazing fashion items that match up with the colours in the seasonal trend report. For spring 2014, here is some of my favourite things that embody a shade from this diverse colour palette:

When I was a little girl, my grandmother introduced me to her deliciously sweet and warm Sweet Potato, Apple and Cranberry Casserole – a dish that has become a requested favourite of mine and my siblings. Due to the dish’s popularity in my family, my mom took up the recipe from my grandmother years ago and makes sure it is always on the menu as a part of our family’s holiday dinners. As much as a juicy turkey does not taste the same without gravy, the turkey at my family’s holiday dinners do not taste the same without this casserole!

Aside from its yummy taste and the feeling of comfort you get as you eat it up, this Sweet Potato, Apple and Cranberry Casserole is just as wonderful for the chef because it is extremely simple to make. The hardest thing you will have to do is cut up sweet potato OR to make it even easier, purchase the canned sweet potatoes. Trust me, it is hard to mess it up!

1) Cut up fresh sweet potatoes OR open up the canned sweet potatoes, sprinkle a dash or two of cinnamon (depending on your love of cinnamon) and arrange half of your potatoes on the bottom of an 8×8 baking dish.

2) Open up the can (or two, depending on your love of apples) of apple pie filling and arrange over top the first layer of sweet potatoes.

3) Arrange the remaining sweet potatoes over top of the layer of apple pie filling.

4) Spoon the cranberry sauce over top of the casserole to finish it off the final layer.

5) Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

6) Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then serve – this recipe in an 8×8 baking dish makes 6 to 8 servings. For a larger crowd, double the recipe and use a larger baking dish.

7) Enjoy!

For the previous Domestic Recipe post on the Complete Cobb Salad,CLICK HERE

During the spring and summer, I tend to cook more, get hands on with the barbeque and trying out new recipes, planting beautiful flowers in the front yard with my mom, and going swimming when I can. All of these things are great, but with more cooking, cleaning, gardening and swimming comes more chipping to my nails and my nail polish not lasting long (we are talking two or maybe three days for my regular mani).

One thing that is my nail saviour during the spring and summer is CND Shellac – a nail polish that delivers a two-week flawless manicure, complete with superior colour and shine, no drying time and no chipping – for 14 days straight or sometimes even longer!

For me, CND shellac nail polish has been amazing for my nails. It cuts my manicure appointments down to twice a month (instead of going for two manicures and two polish changes per month), it helps my nails to stay thicker, stronger and allows for more growth time and the polish stays as perfect as it looked on the first day of wear.

I will be honest though. CND Shellac manicures and nail polishes are not for everyone. If you have weaker nails, it is good to strengthen them with nail care products for a while first before trying shellac.

For this summer, CND Shellac came out with a gorgeous collection of shades for 2014.

In addition to these beautiful brights, I fell in love with two colours from their Open Road Collection, which would be Sun Bleached (pastel yellow) and Mint Convertible (mint). LOVE these shades for spring and summer as well because they are soft and sweet.

Even after all of the handling of food, putting my nails into the water at the pool or gardening without wearing proper gloves at times, CND Shellac keeps my nails looking beautiful – hence, the season of shellac!